


The Guardian Heart

by Stecayl



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, POV Nonhuman, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 20:14:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20972405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stecayl/pseuds/Stecayl
Summary: After Cherche's death, Minerva flies back to Gerome.Whumptober, Day 4: Human Shield





	The Guardian Heart

Cherche's boy comes running out as soon as Minerva descends toward the house, a wide grin on his face. "Mom!"

But he comes to a stop when he sees just Minerva, with her empty saddle. Even before she lands and croons his story at him, his face crumples. His eyes grow wet. He smells like salt and desolation.

Minerva steps closer to him. She licks the salt from his cheek, the way she used to do for Cherche. The boy's shivering a little, but he doesn't move otherwise, the way prey forgets to move sometimes, when it knows it's about to get eaten. She would never eat him, of course.

"You're hurt," he says at last, as if rising from a dream. He looks at the wounds in her side from the battle she fought. "I'll go and a cleric."

He runs off, but he returns soon, with a delicious-smelling human in tow. The human has one of the healing staffs -- it glows and the wounds on her back heal. The boy watches the whole time, hovering anxiously.

Later, he helps her out of her saddle and fills her feeding trough, so that she has her first good meal in days. Then there are humans, everywhere, talking, smelling like pain and fear and anger, and Minerva goes back to her stables and her nest of straw. She sleeps, for the first time in days.

In the middle of the night, she wakes at the sound of footsteps; it's her boy, his face lit by a lantern.

She asks a question. He's supposed to sleep inside, where there are humans to watch over her.

"I snuck out," he says. He looks down, his voice trembling. "I didn't want to sleep alone."

Minerva huffs; she understands. He curls down beside her, burying his face against her side. He smells like pain, and he cries again. She rumbles and preens him, licking his head the way she would a nestling's until he settles down, his breathing steadying.

She throws a wing over him. They sleep like that together, that night, and for many nights to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Hunter's Lullaby" by Leonard Cohen.
> 
> whumptober.tumblr.com for the prompts.
> 
> Originally posted on FFA: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/391643.html?thread=2304155099#cmt2


End file.
